0:00:30 > 0:00:32One of the largest coffee-making facilities in the world
0:00:32 > 0:00:35is based where we're filming today.
0:00:35 > 0:00:40It makes approximately 11 billion cups of coffee just like this each year. Can you guess where we are?
0:00:40 > 0:00:46Has it helped you? No, I didn't think it had. Today, "Flog It!" comes from Banbury in Oxfordshire.
0:00:52 > 0:00:57To go with a good cup of coffee, you need a piece of cake. I have got some right here.
0:00:57 > 0:01:02These cakes are called Banbury cakes and have been made in the town for the last couple of hundred years.
0:01:02 > 0:01:06They're very much like an Eccles cake, full of spicy currants.
0:01:06 > 0:01:10Two guys that clearly love cake - they're larger than life -
0:01:10 > 0:01:13are our experts, Thomas Plant and James Lewis.
0:01:13 > 0:01:15They're on hand at the town hall today.
0:01:15 > 0:01:18Let's get the doors open and get that queue inside.
0:01:31 > 0:01:37Dee, whenever anybody mentions Delft, what most people think about are little blue-and-white plates
0:01:37 > 0:01:42- and clogs painted with windmills. - Yes.- But this is the proper Delft.
0:01:42 > 0:01:49All these tourist things that people bring back from holidays, this is what they're copying.
0:01:49 > 0:01:50This is 18th century,
0:01:50 > 0:01:54made in Holland, but inspired by the Oriental porcelain
0:01:54 > 0:01:59that was being brought into Europe used as ballast in the tea clippers.
0:01:59 > 0:02:02This is copying Oriental porcelain.
0:02:02 > 0:02:07The blue-and-white Oriental porcelain is what was seen to be the very finest of things to own.
0:02:07 > 0:02:12So that's why its influence is from the Chinese.
0:02:12 > 0:02:14It has a brown rim on it.
0:02:14 > 0:02:18Early wares often had a metal rim to stop them getting damaged.
0:02:18 > 0:02:23A lot of Chinese porcelain also has a brown rim.
0:02:23 > 0:02:26So again, it's copying the Chinese.
0:02:26 > 0:02:30A few little nibbles around the edge, because Delft is so soft.
0:02:30 > 0:02:34If you've got little nibbles round the edge, it really doesn't matter.
0:02:34 > 0:02:38If we're talking about a piece of 18th-century English porcelain,
0:02:38 > 0:02:41that really does matter, but with Delft it doesn't. OK?
0:02:41 > 0:02:45Is this something that's been a family treasure for years?
0:02:45 > 0:02:47No, not at all.
0:02:47 > 0:02:52My husband and I used to help a friend of ours out and we were setting up home at the time.
0:02:52 > 0:02:58She gave us bits and pieces, things like a mirror, a three-legged desk and the plate.
0:02:58 > 0:03:03- I didn't think much about it because I truthfully thought her daughter had made it.- Really?!
0:03:03 > 0:03:05She was at art college.
0:03:05 > 0:03:08- You thought it was a home-made pot? - Well, look at it!
0:03:08 > 0:03:12It is fairly ugly, one has to be truthful.
0:03:12 > 0:03:18I would never hurt Jean's feelings, so I said, "Thank you very much."
0:03:18 > 0:03:21It's been known as the ugly plate.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24- The ugly plate!- It is!- How wonderful!
0:03:24 > 0:03:29- The kids used it to mix powder paint and stuff on.- Fantastic!
0:03:29 > 0:03:35It's survived in fantastically good condition, considering all of that.
0:03:35 > 0:03:39The thing is, although people do collect Delft,
0:03:39 > 0:03:43- it's not that valuable.- Well...yes.
0:03:43 > 0:03:49For a piece of 18th-century fun, you can buy a piece like this for £60 to £100.
0:03:49 > 0:03:54- So it's not gonna buy you a holiday to the Bahamas or anything like that.- No!
0:03:54 > 0:03:57- That's fine.- I don't think it needs a reserve.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00Let the auctioneer have a bit of freedom. 60 to 100 and let it go.
0:04:00 > 0:04:06- Absolutely. If it goes to somebody who'll love it, that's fantastic. - It will.- Because I really don't!
0:04:07 > 0:04:11From an 18th-century heirloom to something a little more modern.
0:04:12 > 0:04:15Lorna, thank you very much for coming in to "Flog It!".
0:04:15 > 0:04:17- OK.- And tell me about this bowl.
0:04:17 > 0:04:20Well, it belongs to my sister.
0:04:20 > 0:04:22My dad used to collect silverware and stuff,
0:04:22 > 0:04:26- and his father, my grandfather, was an antique dealer.- Right.
0:04:26 > 0:04:29And he lived in Banbury all his life.
0:04:29 > 0:04:34And my dad used to go to him and buy stuff off of him.
0:04:34 > 0:04:36- What, off his own dad?- Yeah! - Why did he do that?
0:04:36 > 0:04:40Because he used to go around, my grandad used to go around knocking.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43- He was a knocker, was he? - He used to go on his travels
0:04:43 > 0:04:46and knock at people's doors and ask if they had anything for sale.
0:04:46 > 0:04:49- Was he an honest knocker? - Yes. Yes, he was.
0:04:49 > 0:04:51I mean, he was well-known in the town,
0:04:51 > 0:04:56and he'd say to my dad, "Got a bit of Staffordshire," and my dad would buy it off him.
0:04:56 > 0:05:01This would have been quite new, probably, when your grandfather was going around knocking.
0:05:01 > 0:05:03Yeah, probably.
0:05:03 > 0:05:04This is a silver bowl.
0:05:04 > 0:05:09- And it's by a superb goldsmith called the Goldsmith and Silversmiths Company.- Yeah.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12- And it's dated, London 1924. - Oh, really?
0:05:12 > 0:05:16- It's quite a heavy bowl.- Yeah.- It's got a good, thick gauge of silver.
0:05:16 > 0:05:20It would have been just a bowl for display purposes.
0:05:20 > 0:05:23It does have an armorial crest on it here, of a rampant lion.
0:05:23 > 0:05:27- Yeah, the lion. - Which is quite nice, actually.- Yeah.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29It's a very good-looking bowl.
0:05:29 > 0:05:31Why does your sister want to sell it?
0:05:31 > 0:05:37She's got a cabinet and it's just chock-a-block full of different bits and bobs.
0:05:37 > 0:05:40- Silver's on a high at the moment. - Wow! That's good!
0:05:40 > 0:05:43Yeah, I mean, silver's doing quite well.
0:05:43 > 0:05:47Even if you were to scrap that you'd get £60 for it.
0:05:47 > 0:05:50- But there's a lot of work gone into that.- There is.
0:05:50 > 0:05:53- I think we'd probably get between £100 to £120.- Yeah.
0:05:53 > 0:05:55- But I'd like to reserve it at 80. - Yeah.
0:05:55 > 0:05:59- Happy with that?- Yeah.- What will your sister do with the money?
0:05:59 > 0:06:05- She'll probably spend it, go on a holiday, put it towards a holiday. - She won't give you any?- No.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08- No.- Really?- No, she couldn't.
0:06:08 > 0:06:12- I'll let her keep it.- Well, we'll see you there then.- Yeah, lovely.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23Peter, I have to say, I didn't see you to start with.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26It was one of these camera guys who was looking at you.
0:06:26 > 0:06:31- They were admiring it as maybe upgrading their own model to one of yours!- Let's hope so!
0:06:31 > 0:06:32It's so good.
0:06:32 > 0:06:36The quality of the workmanship, the lacquered brass mounts,
0:06:36 > 0:06:39solid mahogany case, and even these little bosses at the side.
0:06:39 > 0:06:42- Absolutely fabulous, yeah. - Made in solid ivory.
0:06:42 > 0:06:44And it just shows the workmanship
0:06:44 > 0:06:47- of the early 20th century, doesn't it?- Absolutely.
0:06:47 > 0:06:51This would have been made, 1910, 1915, something like that.
0:06:51 > 0:06:53Lovely leather bellows.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56Just everything about it is quality. Have you ever used it?
0:06:56 > 0:07:00- I've never actually tried taking photographs with it. - Talk me through it.
0:07:00 > 0:07:03This would be mounted. He'd have a canvas screen over his head,
0:07:03 > 0:07:06and he'd frame up on this screen at the back.
0:07:06 > 0:07:09What he'd then do, once he was happy with the shot,
0:07:09 > 0:07:13he'd lift the back up. This would be slided in.
0:07:13 > 0:07:17There's a little catch there, which is opened to expose the glass plate.
0:07:17 > 0:07:20- Yep.- It would be left open for a minute, two minutes.
0:07:20 > 0:07:24When the cameraman was satisfied it was done, he'd close it up,
0:07:24 > 0:07:25take it out, turn it over,
0:07:25 > 0:07:28- and there's another plate on the back.- Wonderful.
0:07:28 > 0:07:33Those are those classic images we see with a man with a great big black cloth over his head.
0:07:33 > 0:07:35And a big flashgun.
0:07:35 > 0:07:38People couldn't move for the whole two minutes, could they?
0:07:38 > 0:07:42And, gosh. Haven't times changed? I mean, it really is a good thing.
0:07:42 > 0:07:44- And where did it come from? - Interesting story.
0:07:44 > 0:07:49It was owned by a college of art my father taught at in the late '50s,
0:07:49 > 0:07:54and they were having a clear-out and they decided to get rid of a lot of their props,
0:07:54 > 0:07:56- and this was actually going to go on to a bonfire.- No!
0:07:56 > 0:07:58So he rescued it from the frames, as it were,
0:07:58 > 0:08:03and it's been in the family since. And when he passed away 20 years ago, I inherited it.
0:08:03 > 0:08:07- What kind of person would put that on a bonfire?- No idea. Different times!
0:08:07 > 0:08:11But at least your father rescued it and it's here to tell the tale today.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14So, we have to decide a value. These are relatively common.
0:08:14 > 0:08:18We see a lot of them, so they don't go to camera collectors.
0:08:18 > 0:08:20They go to really interior designers.
0:08:20 > 0:08:25I imagine a gentleman's office, with a big mahogany desk.
0:08:25 > 0:08:28And you want tools of your trade around you.
0:08:28 > 0:08:31Imagine a photography studio that might want a few props around
0:08:31 > 0:08:34to show that they were established in 1905,
0:08:34 > 0:08:37- and that's the type of person that will buy this.- Fantastic.
0:08:37 > 0:08:41What's he going to pay for it? £80 to £120? Something like that.
0:08:41 > 0:08:45If we put a reserve on it, reserve of 60, so it doesn't go below that.
0:08:45 > 0:08:48I think that should do really well.
0:08:48 > 0:08:50- Sounds great. - Somebody will snap it up.
0:08:50 > 0:08:53And to think Peter's camera was rescued from a skip.
0:08:53 > 0:08:56Our next item is much more of a treasured possession.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59Rita, thank you very much for coming.
0:08:59 > 0:09:03Tell us about your stereograph and your stereographs.
0:09:03 > 0:09:09- How did you come by them?- I was given this by my mother's friend when I was about five or six years old.
0:09:09 > 0:09:14This was the original set - of Jerusalem.
0:09:14 > 0:09:19And then a schoolteacher in the infants' class gave me the set from the London Zoo.
0:09:19 > 0:09:22That was a very nice present. I certainly see
0:09:22 > 0:09:27- that the London Zoo ones have been played with and viewed...- Definitely.
0:09:27 > 0:09:31- ..much more than Jerusalem.- We did, we played with these a lot.
0:09:31 > 0:09:35The polar bear was always my favourite.
0:09:35 > 0:09:38The polar bear with his paws out. You see his little paws.
0:09:38 > 0:09:43- What other ones did you like? - The tortoise was another one.
0:09:43 > 0:09:45- Yes.- And the monkeys.
0:09:45 > 0:09:47They've got great character. I like the polar bear.
0:09:47 > 0:09:53The monkey's very funny, but I love the zoo keeper with the baby crocodile. I think that's fantastic.
0:09:53 > 0:09:57They were all so nice and we had so much pleasure from them.
0:09:57 > 0:09:59And fun?
0:09:59 > 0:10:02Oh, yes. Yes, definitely.
0:10:02 > 0:10:06- What you do is, the viewer here, you slip in your favourite card.- Yes.
0:10:06 > 0:10:09- The polar bears.- The polar bears.
0:10:09 > 0:10:10And I will view it through here.
0:10:10 > 0:10:14There he is, he's in pure 3D.
0:10:14 > 0:10:16These are just great fun, really.
0:10:16 > 0:10:19- The London Zoo really made a good show of it.- Yes.
0:10:19 > 0:10:21These are interesting, the Jerusalem ones.
0:10:21 > 0:10:25On the top here we have the Wailing Wall. What's that one?
0:10:25 > 0:10:27The Dome on the Rock, where the Temple once stood.
0:10:27 > 0:10:30How old would these be, then?
0:10:30 > 0:10:32I think these are going to be 1900s.
0:10:32 > 0:10:34That first part of the 20th century.
0:10:34 > 0:10:38I don't think they're going to be Victorian.
0:10:38 > 0:10:41Where have they been recently?
0:10:41 > 0:10:44- In the top of the wardrobe.- Really?
0:10:44 > 0:10:46- Yes.- That's why you're selling them?- Yes.
0:10:46 > 0:10:49We've all seen them, my children have, my grandchildren.
0:10:49 > 0:10:52Let somebody else have the pleasure of them.
0:10:52 > 0:10:57Many moons ago, they were very fashionable and very collectible.
0:10:57 > 0:11:03- We've had a brief conversation before and you're not willing to let them go for under £100, are you?- No.
0:11:03 > 0:11:08But I think we will try them at £100 to £120, with a fixed reserve of 100.
0:11:08 > 0:11:15- Yes.- Because this stereograph viewer is probably worth round about £30 to £50.
0:11:15 > 0:11:20I think Jerusalem could be worth £30 to £50, £40 to £60,
0:11:20 > 0:11:24and a similar price for these, so I think we'll get that figure.
0:11:24 > 0:11:27- Yes.- I hope so, for your sake.
0:11:27 > 0:11:31- Because they don't want to go back on the wardrobe, do they?- No.
0:11:31 > 0:11:34- We'll put them in, and you'll come along to the auction.- Yes.
0:11:34 > 0:11:37Brilliant.
0:11:37 > 0:11:41So we found all our items, but before we take them off to auction,
0:11:41 > 0:11:46I'm off to visit one of Britain's greatest pieces of architectural history.
0:11:52 > 0:11:56In 1704, the Duke of Marlborough won a decisive victory over the French
0:11:56 > 0:12:00at Blenheim, on the River Danube in Bavaria.
0:12:00 > 0:12:04The victory crushed Louis XIV's ambition to rule Europe,
0:12:04 > 0:12:07and as a reward, Queen Anne gave the Duke of Marlborough
0:12:07 > 0:12:10an area of land in Woodstock.
0:12:10 > 0:12:12A year later, in 1705, plans were drawn up
0:12:12 > 0:12:16to build a monument to his famous victory, and this is it -
0:12:16 > 0:12:18Blenheim Palace.
0:12:36 > 0:12:39The man appointed as architect was John Vanbrugh,
0:12:39 > 0:12:42renowned for his English Baroque style.
0:12:42 > 0:12:46His aim for Blenheim was to build a monument to a national hero,
0:12:46 > 0:12:48and it's widely believed that Blenheim Palace
0:12:48 > 0:12:52is the finest example of baroque architecture in Britain.
0:12:52 > 0:12:55The building of the palace didn't go entirely to plan.
0:12:55 > 0:12:57The Marlboroughs fell out of favour
0:12:57 > 0:13:01and halfway through the project, money from the Treasury dried up,
0:13:01 > 0:13:05so the Duke had to finance the rest of the build using his own money.
0:13:05 > 0:13:06I've come to talk to John Forster,
0:13:06 > 0:13:09head of education here at Blenheim Palace.
0:13:09 > 0:13:12- John, thank you so much for talking to us.- My pleasure.
0:13:12 > 0:13:17What a perfect day to look at the architecture, with the sun shining down on that lovely stonework.
0:13:17 > 0:13:19It's always best in sunshine.
0:13:19 > 0:13:23Did the completion of Blenheim sort of put a strain on the Duke's finances?
0:13:23 > 0:13:25Well, I suppose it did in a way,
0:13:25 > 0:13:28but if you realise his income from the Crown -
0:13:28 > 0:13:31at the height of the building - was £75,000 a year,
0:13:31 > 0:13:35multiply that by between 60 and 200 to get the modern equivalent,
0:13:35 > 0:13:37and that was per year.
0:13:37 > 0:13:41It was a strain, but it wasn't going to break him or even begin to.
0:13:41 > 0:13:42- He had a lot of money.- Absolutely.
0:13:42 > 0:13:45His wife, Sarah, did she have much of an input in the design?
0:13:45 > 0:13:4821st century lady in the 18th century.
0:13:48 > 0:13:50A tough minded lady.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53He was away on campaign, of course, while this was being built,
0:13:53 > 0:13:55so she supervised everything here.
0:13:55 > 0:13:59So what you see was really under Sarah's direct influence.
0:13:59 > 0:14:02Vanbrugh was single-minded. Did he leave in disgust?
0:14:02 > 0:14:05Absolutely. He couldn't stand Sarah and he did walk out.
0:14:05 > 0:14:08Was it completed to Vanbrugh's original specifications?
0:14:08 > 0:14:10Yes, pretty much, as you see.
0:14:10 > 0:14:13Interestingly, not only to his expectation,
0:14:13 > 0:14:17but what you see here is pretty much what the first Duke saw,
0:14:17 > 0:14:20unlike many houses, where you see bits added later and so on.
0:14:20 > 0:14:23Yes. It is awesome, isn't it?
0:14:23 > 0:14:28- You can sum up English Baroque in one word - mass.- I agree.
0:14:28 > 0:14:32If you look around, you see the heavy weight or the low centre of gravity.
0:14:32 > 0:14:34Everything is solid - the towers, the entry.
0:14:34 > 0:14:38If you feel Blenheim is melodramatic, it's doing its job,
0:14:38 > 0:14:40because that's what it's supposed to be.
0:14:40 > 0:14:42It's meant to be a moral, a lesson.
0:14:42 > 0:14:44This is the home of the victor of the battle.
0:14:44 > 0:14:46Yeah, there's a sense of theatre.
0:14:46 > 0:14:52Yes. An essential part of baroque is symbolic, allegorical illusion.
0:14:52 > 0:14:57If you look, you see at the top there, there is a ducal coronet shape,
0:14:57 > 0:15:01and then below that, a stone orb which represents power,
0:15:01 > 0:15:05and then below that, the curved shape is the fleur-de-lys of France.
0:15:05 > 0:15:07But upside down in defeat -
0:15:07 > 0:15:10symbolic, totally, of the Duke's defeat of the French.
0:15:10 > 0:15:14It's four times in that tower, it's four times in the tower behind us,
0:15:14 > 0:15:17and there are two more towers in the south of the building.
0:15:17 > 0:15:19So the message is made very clear.
0:15:19 > 0:15:22Yeah. And a lot of it is sort of castle-like, as well, isn't it?
0:15:22 > 0:15:24Well, Vanbrugh was a soldier,
0:15:24 > 0:15:28and he inherited the notion of fortification from that, so, yes...
0:15:28 > 0:15:33He said he wanted to give it a "castle air" as well as being a home in which the Duke would live.
0:15:33 > 0:15:37Baroque is... Well, it's architecture from southern Europe, that's its origins.
0:15:37 > 0:15:40Why didn't it really take off in England?
0:15:40 > 0:15:43Well, as it came through northern Europe,
0:15:43 > 0:15:46its emotionalism rather conflicted with the more dour,
0:15:46 > 0:15:49the more Protestant kind of philosophy in those countries,
0:15:49 > 0:15:51and so its excesses were taken off.
0:15:51 > 0:15:55By the time it came to England, 150 years after it began in Italy,
0:15:55 > 0:15:58you get this restricted form of baroque
0:15:58 > 0:16:00which is called English Baroque,
0:16:00 > 0:16:03and Blenheim is commonly thought to be the best example of that.
0:16:03 > 0:16:05Yeah, not quite so theatrical.
0:16:05 > 0:16:07- It doesn't drip with ornamentation, does it?- No.
0:16:07 > 0:16:11You've got bits. There's detail all around which you can pick out.
0:16:11 > 0:16:15The roof-scape is particularly ornamented, I think.
0:16:15 > 0:16:20What I love as well is there's a very shallow rise on the tread of the step,
0:16:20 > 0:16:23so...the perspective is a lot deeper than you actually think it is.
0:16:23 > 0:16:25It's a trick of the eye.
0:16:25 > 0:16:27And you've got a little tiny front door
0:16:27 > 0:16:30with huge, great big Corinthian columns.
0:16:30 > 0:16:32Well, there's the drama you were talking about.
0:16:32 > 0:16:34You've got a simple front door
0:16:34 > 0:16:37but it's dramatised and it's taken to extremes,
0:16:37 > 0:16:40- because it wants to have this emotional, baroque effect on you.- Yes.
0:16:40 > 0:16:43- I love it. I absolutely love it. - I'm glad you do.
0:16:43 > 0:16:46Does the symbolism continue inside? Can we go in?
0:16:46 > 0:16:48Absolutely. Come and have a look.
0:17:05 > 0:17:11Well, my eyes gravitate instantly, when you come through the door, to that wonderful ceiling.
0:17:11 > 0:17:15Magnificent. You see there, kneeling, the figure of the first Duke of Marlborough,
0:17:15 > 0:17:19hand on heart, true baroque emotion, presenting the victory of Blenheim,
0:17:19 > 0:17:21which he's gesturing to with his other hand,
0:17:21 > 0:17:25and he's offering it to the spirit of Britain, Britannia,
0:17:25 > 0:17:27who's in white, seated in front of him,
0:17:27 > 0:17:30with the spear in her hand and the red plume in her hat,
0:17:30 > 0:17:32offering his achievement to his country.
0:17:32 > 0:17:38All the figures there are symbolic of all kinds of aspects of war and Marlborough's achievement and so on.
0:17:38 > 0:17:41- Who is the artist and when was it painted?- James Thornhill.
0:17:41 > 0:17:43- He did the ceiling in St Paul's. - That's right.
0:17:43 > 0:17:46He painted this in 1719.
0:17:46 > 0:17:49- And he charged too much so the Duchess sacked him.- Really?
0:17:49 > 0:17:51- Yes!- How much did he charge?
0:17:51 > 0:17:54Well, he charged one pound, 25 shillings a yard. £9,000.
0:17:54 > 0:17:58She thought she was being ripped off, in modern language,
0:17:58 > 0:17:59and so he was dismissed.
0:17:59 > 0:18:02- I think she got a bargain. - Didn't she just? Superb.
0:18:02 > 0:18:04It's beautifully encased.
0:18:04 > 0:18:07It's bordered, so it doesn't go any further, does it?
0:18:07 > 0:18:10If we were in sort of the South of France now, or Italy,
0:18:10 > 0:18:12that painting would sort of drip out of the walls.
0:18:12 > 0:18:15It's English baroque, it's contained. Absolutely right.
0:18:15 > 0:18:18The condition of the house is superb.
0:18:18 > 0:18:20I'm surprised it survived the Blitz.
0:18:20 > 0:18:26Well, the story is that Goering rather fancied it as his country house once they won the war,
0:18:26 > 0:18:28which they were convinced they were going to do,
0:18:28 > 0:18:32so it was spared the bombing, even though MI5 were located here.
0:18:32 > 0:18:34It was Churchill's birthplace, wasn't it?
0:18:34 > 0:18:39- I think they wanted to cock a snook at Churchill, if you like, yes. - What a lovely story!- Absolutely.
0:18:40 > 0:18:44Blenheim Palace is as breathtaking inside as it is outside,
0:18:44 > 0:18:48and the level of detail that has gone into the design
0:18:48 > 0:18:52truly makes it one of Britain's architectural gems.
0:19:03 > 0:19:05It's now time to look back at what we're taking to auction
0:19:05 > 0:19:08from our valuation day in Banbury.
0:19:08 > 0:19:14Even though Dee's 18th-century Delft plate has suffered a bit of wear and tear,
0:19:14 > 0:19:16after being used to mix children's paints,
0:19:16 > 0:19:19I think it will still attract the collectors.
0:19:19 > 0:19:22Peter brought in this rather fine-looking mahogany camera.
0:19:22 > 0:19:27What it lacks in mega pixels, it certainly makes up for in style.
0:19:27 > 0:19:29With the price of silver at a high,
0:19:29 > 0:19:32this simple, quality bowl should do rather well.
0:19:32 > 0:19:36And finally, Rita used this stereoscope as a child,
0:19:36 > 0:19:39but she feels it's time to let someone else enjoy these
0:19:39 > 0:19:40delightful scenes from the past.
0:19:42 > 0:19:45For the auction, we've come to Jones & Jacob
0:19:45 > 0:19:49in the picturesque village of Watlington, deep in the Oxfordshire countryside.
0:19:49 > 0:19:54The two men wielding the gavel today are Simon Jones and Francis Ogley.
0:19:54 > 0:19:59I'm going to have a quick chat with Simon about Rita's stereoscope.
0:19:59 > 0:20:03We've seen plenty of these on the show before, the stereoscopes.
0:20:03 > 0:20:07We've got some great view cards, as well. I particularly like London Zoo there.
0:20:07 > 0:20:11There's also some early ones of Jerusalem from the 1900s.
0:20:11 > 0:20:15It belongs to Rita, and we've put a valuation of £100 to £120.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18There is a fixed reserve at £100.
0:20:18 > 0:20:23That's not unreasonable. It's not the greatest set, but it's got the interesting London Zoo ones.
0:20:23 > 0:20:29Jerusalem is a well-known series - you see lots of them about - so fair enough.
0:20:29 > 0:20:32- And it's an aluminium one rather than anything more fancy.- Yeah.
0:20:32 > 0:20:36It's the animals, I think, which are the key to it, aren't they, really?
0:20:36 > 0:20:40It is a bit of fun. That's your early television, isn't it?
0:20:40 > 0:20:43- Yes. - Do you find these sell really well?
0:20:43 > 0:20:47We've two or three main collectors of them and two or three dealers,
0:20:47 > 0:20:51so they go pretty well, but they don't make a great deal of money.
0:20:51 > 0:20:54It's the slides that really sort them out.
0:20:54 > 0:20:58Something rare rockets away. Something a bit ordinary - Jerusalem -
0:20:58 > 0:21:00less exciting.
0:21:00 > 0:21:05Let's hope that our have got both eyes firmly focused on our items.
0:21:05 > 0:21:09First up, it's Dee's Delft plate.
0:21:09 > 0:21:12Right now it's something for the purists, and I love it.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15It's an 18th-century Delft plate and it belongs to Dee here.
0:21:15 > 0:21:17- Who's with you? - My daughter, Alex.
0:21:17 > 0:21:22- Alex, how do you do?- Very well. - So, were you responsible for mixing up paints on this plate?
0:21:22 > 0:21:27Yeah, every summer holiday on the grass in the garden. It was just the mixing tray.
0:21:27 > 0:21:31- And you thought this was a bit of pottery made by a school kid, didn't you?- Absolutely.
0:21:31 > 0:21:34When did you find out it was 18th century?
0:21:34 > 0:21:38A friend of mine came round one day and said, "I think that's old."
0:21:38 > 0:21:42"It's old! It's old! Let's bring it along to 'Flog It!' and show it to James, our expert!"
0:21:42 > 0:21:45You love this kind of thing. Tin glaze.
0:21:45 > 0:21:48It's a classic bit of British 18th-century pottery.
0:21:48 > 0:21:51It's lovely. I love it. And it's so underrated.
0:21:51 > 0:21:54This has been around for 200 or so years. And what's it worth?
0:21:54 > 0:21:57- £60 to £100.- Exactly. - That's what you put on it!
0:21:57 > 0:22:00Well, let's hope it gets more than £100 right now.
0:22:00 > 0:22:05Damage on Delft - it doesn't really put the collectors off. It adds to it, as far as I'm concerned.
0:22:05 > 0:22:09- As long as it's not too bad.- Indeed. - Smashed into 30 bits is a problem!
0:22:09 > 0:22:11Well, good luck, OK? Good luck.
0:22:11 > 0:22:13It's going under the hammer now.
0:22:13 > 0:22:16Lot six is the Delft plate.
0:22:16 > 0:22:18Here we are. Blue and white one.
0:22:18 > 0:22:22- And what can we say for that? 60 or £70 sell me for this one?- 50.
0:22:22 > 0:22:2550, I'm bid. 55 anywhere? 55. 60?
0:22:25 > 0:22:2865. 70. 75. 80. 85. 90.
0:22:28 > 0:22:3295. 100. 110. 120.
0:22:32 > 0:22:34130? 120, then, with Alan at 120.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37All done at £120. All finished, 120.
0:22:37 > 0:22:40- It's going down.- Fantastic.
0:22:40 > 0:22:44£120. And what were you saying? Good job you didn't have
0:22:44 > 0:22:46a dishwasher!
0:22:46 > 0:22:49Oh, that's ridiculous.
0:22:49 > 0:22:54- That's fantastic! No, as James said, it's from the 18th century. - Well, yes, it is old.
0:22:54 > 0:22:57- It's a hardy survivor. - It needed to be!
0:22:57 > 0:22:59With you two about!
0:22:59 > 0:23:01What are you going to spend £120 on?
0:23:01 > 0:23:05We're redoing an extension, so it's going to be for the light in the kitchen -
0:23:05 > 0:23:07- a nice centrepiece.- Oh, lovely!
0:23:07 > 0:23:12- You can think of "Flog It!" when you turn the light on.- Turn the light on and there you'll be!
0:23:14 > 0:23:16For an old plate used as an artist's palate,
0:23:16 > 0:23:19the Delft did rather well for James.
0:23:19 > 0:23:23Let's see how Thomas gets on with Rita's lot.
0:23:23 > 0:23:26We've seen these on the show before, the stereograph viewers.
0:23:26 > 0:23:28We've not seen images of London Zoo.
0:23:28 > 0:23:32Rita, they are lovely. They all put a smile on our face earlier.
0:23:32 > 0:23:37- Thomas, they must have cheered you up.- They did. Not that I needed it.- Course not!
0:23:37 > 0:23:40I had a chat to the auctioneer and he said the value is spot-on.
0:23:40 > 0:23:43£100, £120 should do it.
0:23:43 > 0:23:49It's not the best stereograph viewer he's seen, but the images will hopefully get it away.
0:23:49 > 0:23:53At the valuation day, I first saw the Israel ones, which are quite common.
0:23:53 > 0:23:58But Israel does have that... It does have that draw for people. Well, it's Palestine, actually.
0:23:58 > 0:24:02And old photographs of Palestine are really popular.
0:24:02 > 0:24:08But the London Zoo ones, when I saw those, I thought, "Oh! A polar bear, monkeys and penguins!"
0:24:08 > 0:24:09It was really nice.
0:24:09 > 0:24:13So...fingers crossed. This is it. It's going under the hammer.
0:24:13 > 0:24:17Lot 110 is next, which is the stereoscopic viewer and the slides.
0:24:17 > 0:24:19We throw in a free Clarks shoe box.
0:24:20 > 0:24:23£100 for it?
0:24:23 > 0:24:2580, then, to start me. £80 I'm bid.
0:24:25 > 0:24:2785 anywhere? We all happy at £80?
0:24:27 > 0:24:30All done, then, at 80. All finished.
0:24:30 > 0:24:33- It hasn't sold.- Hasn't sold.
0:24:33 > 0:24:34That's surprising.
0:24:34 > 0:24:36That's really surprising.
0:24:36 > 0:24:40- It didn't sell.- That's a shame. - You have to take them home.
0:24:40 > 0:24:43- That's all right.- At least it's not a chest of drawers!
0:24:43 > 0:24:46- You can get that in the car. - No, I don't mind taking it home.
0:24:46 > 0:24:48- I'd rather take it home than...- Yes.
0:24:48 > 0:24:53- ..not have had the reserve on it. - You did the right thing.- Yes.
0:24:53 > 0:24:55Always protect your investment with a reserve.
0:24:57 > 0:25:00Oh, dear. The bidders didn't agree with Thomas' valuation.
0:25:00 > 0:25:05What will they make of James' estimate on the plate glass camera?
0:25:05 > 0:25:08None of us are camera-shy. We stand in front of them most of the time.
0:25:08 > 0:25:11Except for Peter, but you've brought a camera!
0:25:11 > 0:25:14- I have indeed. - And we've got £80 to £120 on this.
0:25:14 > 0:25:17It's lovely, it's mahogany, it's what you expect.
0:25:17 > 0:25:20And the condition is fantastic for early 1900s.
0:25:20 > 0:25:22Will it do the £80 to 120?
0:25:22 > 0:25:24I think so. It's got to.
0:25:24 > 0:25:27- We've seen them on the show before. Rescued from a bonfire.- Indeed.
0:25:27 > 0:25:29So classic recycling, really.
0:25:29 > 0:25:33What more can we do? Let's flog it! It's going under the hammer now.
0:25:33 > 0:25:37Lot 96 is the early 1900s mahogany plate camera. There it is.
0:25:37 > 0:25:40What can we say for that? £80, £90 for it?
0:25:40 > 0:25:43£80 for the plate camera?
0:25:43 > 0:25:46- 60, then?- Oh, come on.
0:25:46 > 0:25:5150, if you'd like to start me. £50. 55, 60, 65, 70, 75. £70 I'm bid.
0:25:51 > 0:25:5575 there. £70 seated here in front of me, at £70.
0:25:55 > 0:25:58All done at 70, all finished.
0:25:58 > 0:26:00We just got it away!
0:26:00 > 0:26:03- We're happy with that. - Absolutely splendid, yes.
0:26:03 > 0:26:06Exactly. Yeah, treat yourself to a meal or something.
0:26:06 > 0:26:09I've got a three-way split with my wife and my son!
0:26:09 > 0:26:11Fish and chips!
0:26:11 > 0:26:13I'm only on a percentage, so...
0:26:19 > 0:26:23Right, next up, Lorna's silver octagonal bowl.
0:26:23 > 0:26:26In fact, we have Lorna here and we also have your sister,
0:26:26 > 0:26:28because it is, in fact, your bowl.
0:26:28 > 0:26:31- So we couldn't let you get away with it!- No!
0:26:31 > 0:26:35We clobbered her, didn't we? Got her in, we got her into the auction.
0:26:35 > 0:26:38We've got a valuation of £100 to £120.
0:26:38 > 0:26:40Yeah, it's a very nice bowl.
0:26:40 > 0:26:42Lovely, what we call, thick, gauge of silver.
0:26:42 > 0:26:45Good weight - nice and thick and solid.
0:26:45 > 0:26:47Was it early 1920s?
0:26:47 > 0:26:50It's 1900s, I think, something like that. It's quite good quality.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53Goldsmiths and Silversmiths, good makers.
0:26:53 > 0:26:55So hopefully, lots of money.
0:26:55 > 0:26:57- Well, the trade's here. - The trade's here.
0:26:57 > 0:27:01Thomas has spotted the trade, the silver trade following us around.
0:27:01 > 0:27:04Good luck, both of you, OK. This is it.
0:27:04 > 0:27:09Lot 236, the Goldsmiths and Silversmiths octagonal silver bowl -
0:27:09 > 0:27:11300 grams. £100 for that?
0:27:11 > 0:27:1490, I have. 95 anywhere?
0:27:14 > 0:27:2190, 95, 100, 110, 120, 130, 140.
0:27:21 > 0:27:23140. On commission. 150.
0:27:23 > 0:27:27At 150. At 150? My right, at 150.
0:27:27 > 0:27:29All done at 150?
0:27:30 > 0:27:33The hammer's gone down. We'll take that.
0:27:33 > 0:27:35That's a good result, Sylvia. £150.
0:27:35 > 0:27:37- Happy?- Yes, fine.
0:27:37 > 0:27:39Are you going to treat your sister?
0:27:39 > 0:27:41Oh, yes, of course.
0:27:41 > 0:27:43She's going to Greece for the first time
0:27:43 > 0:27:46towards the end of the year with my mum,
0:27:46 > 0:27:50and the silver was my mum's and my dad's years ago, so...
0:27:50 > 0:27:52It's a bit of a family holiday.
0:27:52 > 0:27:54It's great that the family's stuck together.
0:27:54 > 0:27:57- You don't live too far apart? - No.- No.
0:27:57 > 0:28:01- 20 miles apart. Well, you're saying, "Not far enough"!- Sometimes!
0:28:08 > 0:28:10Well, that's it. It's all over.
0:28:10 > 0:28:14The auction's finished, and I've got to say, that was tough going today.
0:28:14 > 0:28:18All credit to our experts, but I think everybody's gone home happy,
0:28:18 > 0:28:20and I hope you've enjoyed watching, too.
0:28:20 > 0:28:25So, from Jones & Jacob in the Oxfordshire countryside of Watlington, it's cheerio.
0:28:35 > 0:28:37Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:28:37 > 0:28:40E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk